Spaghetti with Zucchini, Carrots and Chili

Fragrant garlic and chili oil

The recipe for zucchini spaghetti is simple: all you really need is pasta and fresh vegetables. It is best to choose dark green zucchini, which are firmer and do not fall apart when fried. The chili gives the dish its special flavor, a touch of heat just at the edge of perception, plus aroma. Preparing the vegetables for frying is much like the well-known “aglio e olio” recipe: oil and garlic. Then the vegetables and the cooked pasta are fried in the flavored olive oil.

1. Fry the garlic and chili in olive oil. Peel 2–3 garlic cloves and crush them with the flat of a knife. Deseed a small chili pod and chop it with a knife. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and fry the garlic and chili in it until the garlic just begins to darken. Then discard the garlic cloves. Salt the chili oil lightly and reduce the heat.

   

Vegetables

2. Cut the vegetables. Peel the carrots and cut them into strips or thick matchsticks along the whole length. A kitchen slicer grater, the kind used for Korean carrots, is handy here. Young zucchini do not need peeling: just trim the ends and cut them into thick matchsticks, like the carrots.

3. Add the cut carrots to the hot oil and fry uncovered for 3–4 mins, stirring constantly, until soft.

   

4. Add the cut zucchini to the carrots. Keep frying the vegetables in olive oil until the zucchini is soft and almost done. The vegetables in this dish are cooked to al dente.

   

Pasta

5. While the vegetables are frying, cook the pasta: bring 2–3 l of water to a boil over high heat, salt it (7 g of salt per 1 l of water: 14 g for 2 l, 21 g for 3 l) and cook the pasta for the time given on the package. Drain the spaghetti in a colander to let the water run off.

6. Transfer the pasta to the frying pan with the vegetables and toss. Fry the zucchini spaghetti over medium heat for 3–4 mins, so the pasta soaks up the flavored oil and aromas.

   

Serving

7. Divide the pasta among serving plates, trying to keep the spaghetti and vegetables evenly mixed. If you are not set on serving a vegetarian dish, I recommend sprinkling the pasta before serving with finely grated Parmesan or a similar cheese. If you like, drizzle the dish with a little olive oil, sprinkle it with black pepper and garnish with a sprig of basil. I once saw a similar dish sprinkled with sesame seeds before serving, so you can try that too.

   

   If possible, use zucchini of different colors to make the dish more colorful. Fried sweet pepper also goes well; choose elongated varieties, which are easier to cut into thin strips. To make the dish more filling, you can add fish or meat.